EWING, Va. — The Lee County Chamber of Commerce has officially become an affiliated partner with The Crooked Road, Virginia’s heritage music trail. Thursday night, Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore presented a banner to Bob Bost, Executive Director of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce at Wilderness Road State Park in Ewing, Va., in honor of their acceptance. The affiliation certifies the Lee County Tobacco Fall Festival, the County’s annual celebration, as part of The Crooked Road Trail.

“A tradition since 1949, the Lee County Tobacco Festival exemplifies the culture and music of the region and we are proud to recognize his festival as a Crooked Road Affiliated Partner,” said Jonathan Romeo, Interim Executive Director of The Crooked Road. “The Crooked Road’s venues are an important part of the assets of our region.”

The Crooked Road is a ten county regional organization. Its mission is to support tourism and economic development in Southwest Virginia by celebrating and preserving this Appalachian region’s unique musical and cultural heritage. The trail itself covers 253 miles from Rocky in Franklin County to Breaks Interstate Park in Dickinson County.

The Crooked Road Board recently announced the inclusion of seven additional partners on the trail. The partners are all music presenters and include annual festivals and weekly jams. A complete listing of the 28 Partners and eight major venues of the trail can be found at www.thecrookedroad.org.

“Crooked Road is a series of venues where traditional music is played... [It] is designed to support interesting music in this region,” said Bob Bost, Executive Director of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce. “It starts East of Lee County in Scott and Wise Counties and goes to various venues throughout the region. There isn’t a venue in Lee County and the Tobacco Festival would be the first one. We would like to get it down to the Wilderness Road State Park, which is the reason we’re having it at [the park].”

Stephen Woodward is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. He may be contacted at swoodward@middlesborodailynews.com.